Welcome to our food series called Eat It Up, where we share the kitchen gadgets and foods that we can’t cook without.
We’ve gotten over soy milk, learned to love almond milk, and recently embraced oat milk. Now, we make way for another vegan milk alternative: banana milk. It isn’t a new idea; Banana Wave ($12/2) launched in 2013 and Mooala Bananamilk ($6) hit shelves in 2016, but the beverage has been tame in popularity. We think that should change.
The lightly sweet blend of water and puréed bananas differs from its more neutral non-dairy predecessors in that it actually tastes like its main ingredient — bananas. We like Mooala’s Original blend, which features cinnamon, sea salt, plus sunflower seed butter (for a distinct nuttiness sans nuts). Unlike other brands, Mooala has no added sugar, so each cup has just 60 calories and 3 grams of sugar. While its fruity flavor might not make it the best choice for your morning coffee, banana milk does offer a pleasant upgrade to cereal, smoothies, oats, and more. Check out our favorite ways to use it below.
1. Pour it into blended drinks. Update your go-to green smoothie or smoothie bowl by replacing the nut or dairy milk with banana milk. In case that got your breakfast gears turning, here are 10 other smoothie recipes.
2. Add it to oats. Swap water or your usual milk of choice for banana milk in oatmeal, muesli, or overnight oats. The fruity flavor particularly complements cinnamon and vanilla, nut butter, chocolate, and berries (basically, any flavor profile you like).
3. Try it in pancakes. Infuse your fluffy flapjacks, whether it’s three-ingredient vegan pancakes or filling protein pancakes, with the flavor of banana milk.
4. Make vegan ice cream. Frozen bananas are a key ingredient in non-dairy ice cream and milkshakes. Enhance the frozen fruit with banana milk in this Blue Majik nice cream or two-ingredient vegan ice cream (along with dark chocolate, pistachio, and vanilla, of course).
5. Experiment with baked goods. Try banana milk in healthier cookies, cakes, and other baked treats when you feel like indulging on a dairy-free day.
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